A veteran mechanic in Chicago told me my hoistway cleaning was 'just moving dirt around' and it made me switch to a HEPA vac for every job.

He pointed out that my old brush and pan method was kicking dust onto the guide rails and sheaves, so now I spend the extra ten minutes with the vac to keep everything spotless, which honestly saves time on callbacks for noise complaints, right?

4 comments

4 Comments

sean_foster522mo ago

Yeah, that old brush just puts the fine stuff in the air to settle somewhere worse. I read a maintenance guide that said dust on the rails is a big part of early wear. Your callback point is spot on, fixing a noise issue takes way longer than a proper clean.

troy9961mo ago

Early wear from rail dust" is something I've wondered about, does that show up more in certain climates or just inevitable over time?

johns182mo ago

Fixing a noise issue takes way longer" is the whole reason I switched too.

elliotc101mo ago

A few drops of lightweight machine oil on a q-tip worked better than anything else I tried for rail noise. Just had to wipe the old gunk off first and apply a tiny amount to each contact point. Been quiet for months now without having to mess with it again.